MILAN (Reuters) - Italian bank Intesa Sanpaolo said on Monday it does not believe it needs to make more provisions for loans to the struggling Carlo Tassara Group, the holding company for financier Romain Zaleski. Intesa Sanpaolo set aside 430 million euros ($581 million) of its overall exposure to the Carlo Tassara Group as of June 30, the bank said in a statement. Intesa "deems, at this time, that outstanding loans of approximately 675 million euros can be...

By Alasdair Reilly LONDON (Reuters) - Bayer has signed a $14.2 billion acquisition loan backing its purchase of U.S.-based Merck's consumer care business, the lead banks said in a statement on Wednesday. The loan was underwritten on an equal basis by mandated lead arrangers and bookrunners Bank of America Merrill Lynch, BNP Paribas and Mizuho Bank and saw strong support from Bayer's core relationship banks with 23 banks joining in syndication. Mandated led arrangers were BBVA,...

MILAN (Reuters) - Italian bank Intesa Sanpaolo on Friday said an Italian investigation into a series of derivative trades involved "negligible" deals carried out in 2010 that have no impact on its accounts. Prosecutors in the southern town of Trani are investigating derivatives contracts made by the country's three largest banks including troubled lender Monte dei Paschi di Siena , judicial sources said on Friday. "Intesa Sanpaolo underlines that this investigation dates...

ROME (Reuters) - Talks between Intesa Sanpaolo, UniCredit and U.S. private equity firm KKR to pool some problematic loans of the two Italian lenders are at an advanced stage and should conclude in the next few weeks, the Intesa Sanpaolo CEO said on Friday. "The talks are at an advanced stage, we think we could finalise an agreement in the next few weeks," Carlo Messina said on the sidelines of a Bank of Italy annual assembly. In April, Italy's top two banks...

By Stefano Bernabei and Gianluca Semeraro ROME/MILAN, Feb 13 (Reuters) - Italy's top two banks, UniCredit and Intesa Sanpaolo, are in talks to set up a vehicle to pool restructured loans with a nominal value of 1 billion euros ($1.4 billion), two sources close to the matter said on Thursday. UniCredit CEO Federico Ghizzoni confirmed this week negotiations were underway between two banks and U.S. fund KKR as Italian lenders strive to...

MILAN (Reuters) - The Chief Operating Officer of Italy's biggest retail bank, Intesa Sanpaolo , handed in his resignation on Tuesday as part of an executive job reduction scheme within the group. Francesco Micheli, who has held a series of positions at the bank over the years, stepped down from all positions at the bank, including his seat on the management board, Intesa Sanpaolo said in a statement on Tuesday. His resignation will be effective May 15. "It is a typical...

MILAN (Reuters) - Italy's biggest retail bank, Intesa Sanpaolo , is in the midst of a management struggle between its chief executive and a board member backed by an important shareholder, people close to the matter told Reuters on Tuesday. However, several sources said they did not think that Enrico Cucchiani's position as the bank's CEO was under any immediate threat. Intesa declined to comment. Reports about internal criticism of Cucchiani come...

(Reuters) - Italy's two largest banks, UniCredit and Intesa Sanpaolo , are teaming up with U.S. private equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts to pool some of their bad loans into a vehicle that will provide fresh capital for the struggling companies, the Financial Times reported. The preliminary agreement, which also involves restructuring adviser Alvarez & Marsal, will be announced on Tuesday, the paper said on its website on Monday. The announcement is...

(Reuters) - Italy's two largest banks, UniCredit and Intesa Sanpaolo , are teaming up with U.S. private equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts to pool some of their bad loans into a vehicle that will provide fresh capital for the struggling companies, the Financial Times reported. The preliminary agreement, which also involves restructuring adviser Alvarez & Marsal, will be announced on Tuesday, the paper said on its website on Monday. The announcement is...

By Stefano Bernabei and Gianluca Semeraro ROME/MILAN, Feb 13 (Reuters) - Italy's top two banks, UniCredit and Intesa Sanpaolo, are in talks to set up a vehicle to pool restructured loans with a nominal value of 1 billion euros ($1.4 billion), two sources close to the matter said on Thursday. UniCredit CEO Federico Ghizzoni confirmed this week negotiations were underway between two banks and U.S. fund KKR as Italian lenders strive to...

MILAN (Reuters) - UniCredit , Italy's largest bank by assets, has submitted a preliminary offer to buy Poland's Bank BGZ and is sounding investors out on the possibility of selling its Ukrainian unit, Chief Executive Federico Ghizzoni said. Ghizzoni, who earlier this year sold Unicredit's Kazakh operation, said this was part of the bank's strategy to strengthen its presence in countries it considers "core" and leave those markets where it sees little opportunity for...

MILAN (Reuters) - Italian bank Intesa Sanpaolo said on Monday it does not believe it needs to make more provisions for loans to the struggling Carlo Tassara Group, the holding company for financier Romain Zaleski. Intesa Sanpaolo set aside 430 million euros ($581 million) of its overall exposure to the Carlo Tassara Group as of June 30, the bank said in a statement. Intesa "deems, at this time, that outstanding loans of approximately 675 million euros can be...

BARI, Italy (Reuters) - Italian prosecutors are investigating derivative trades made by five of the country's biggest banks, judicial sources said on Friday, as part of an investigation that began at least a year ago before the current Monte dei Paschi scandal erupted. Monte dei Paschi , UniCredit , Intesa Sanpaolo , BNL and Credem are being investigated by a court in Trani, a small town on the southeastern coast of Italy, over derivative trades, judicial sources told...

The following factors could affect Italian markets on Monday. Reuters has not verified the newspaper reports, and cannot vouch for their accuracy. New items are marked with (*). POLITICS A Milan court on Saturday ruled that former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi should be barred from holding public office for two years following a conviction for tax fraud. Industry Minister Flavio Zanonato defended Italy's 2014 budget law in an interview with Il Messaggero on...

The following factors could affect Italian markets on Monday. Reuters has not verified the newspaper reports, and cannot vouch for their accuracy. New items are marked with (*). POLITICS European Union officials warned Italy on Sunday not to let politics ruin recovery prospects and upset debt markets in a week that could signal the end of Erico Letta's fragile five-month-old government. Letta made an appeal for political stability on Saturday, warning that a...

MILAN (Reuters) - UniCredit , Italy's largest bank by assets, has submitted a preliminary offer to buy Poland's Bank BGZ and is sounding investors out on the possibility of selling its Ukrainian unit, Chief Executive Federico Ghizzoni said. Ghizzoni, who earlier this year sold Unicredit's Kazakh operation, said this was part of the bank's strategy to strengthen its presence in countries it considers "core" and leave those markets where it sees little opportunity for...

MILAN (Reuters) - Spanish telecoms company Telefonica has agreed to hike its stake in rival Telecom Italia , a source close to the deal said, ending months of speculation on the future of the debt-laden Italian group and opening the way to asset sales. Under the terms of the deal, to be announced on Tuesday, Telefonica will boost its stake in Telco, the holding company that controls Telecom Italia, to an initial 65 percent with an option to bring the stake to around 70...

By Silvia Aloisi and Lisa Jucca MILAN, Oct 1 (Reuters) - Enrico Cucchiani's ousting from Italy's biggest retail bank underscores the power of the old guard in the financial system that critics say holds the economy back. Cucchiani, 63, was forced out less than two years into the job as Intesa Sanpaolo chief executive after clashing with Giovanni Bazoli, an octogenarian banker who is the mighty head of the bank's supervisory board. Cucchiani...